With the original taking place in the 1930s, the sequel taking place in the 1940s and 1950s, and Mafia III taking place in the late 1960s, the Mafia series has steadfastly advanced through the decades since its inception. I was prepared if the 1970s, 1980s, or both were to be the following stage. Whatever it was—casino intrigue, shine boxes, or late-night stealing of enormous kitchen knives from Martin Scorcese’s mother—I was game. However, Mafia: The Old Country takes us back to the beginning of the 20th century rather than bringing us closer to the finish. And not only to the start of the century, but to the Mafia’s early years as well.

Despite appearing to be a safe and traditional third-person action game, The Old Country is a moody and captivating game that makes excellent use of its unusual setting and is full of vintage atmosphere so strong you can almost smell the sun-dried tomatoes. It is a combination of Western and mob drama. Mafia: The Old Country reverts to the basic Mafia and Mafia II model after experimenting with a more freeform open world layout in the contentious Mafia III. In other words, the open world serves primarily as a vibrant setting to navigate between objectives and during some missions, and it is linear and heavily story-driven. The Mafia series has always benefited from this, and The Old Country is no different.

With this strategy, The Old Country effectively conveys a sense of place and scale, transporting you to the lush and evocative Sicilian countryside without being overly crowded. Although the map is incredibly rich, varied, and believable, it lacks arbitrary symbols to visit and clear as well as towers to climb. All you have to do is focus on the story and the story and the story. I was immediately captivated by the story, setting, and style of this type of game, as I am a sucker for single-player games. You’re in the ideal place if you’re the type of person who might be tempted to employ the Sicilian language option together with subtitles in your preferred language.

Family Splatters

The Old Country tells the story of young Sicilian Enzo Favara, who escapes a life of servitude in the region’s hazardous sulfur mines, which are controlled by the vicious Spadaro crime family, and ends up working for their local rivals, the Torrisi family, starting in 1904. All the typical suspects are present, and the plot hits many standard beats. The devoted closest friend and mentor who is fair and kind, but has a way of trying people’s patience. Don, who is tough and strong, and his cynical consigliere. The forbidden love and the cunning and slick rival boss. For fans who take close notice, there are also some interesting links to the series’ current games.

For anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of gangster films, the 13-hour story is rather conventional and predictable, but the writing and voice acting are superb. Don Torrisi himself is perhaps the high point, as English voice actor Johnny Santiago gives him a husky, low-key ferocity that is as convincingly menacing as a guy in his role would have to be. He stalks the screen as the type of man who would genuinely obey commands from individuals who kill for a living.

For anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of gangster films, the 13-hour story is rather conventional and predictable, but the writing is excellent.

The Old Country plays like any other cover shooter from the past ten or so years, and the third-person action is also familiar. The same thing happened in 2020’s Mafia: Definitive Edition, but with a wild west flair because of the period-specific weapons (such as revolvers, repeaters, and different shotguns) and the fact that shootouts occasionally take place on horseback or against guys who appear to have just stumbled home from a Sergio Leone photo shoot after a long day of making Clint Eastwood look cool.

The default, soft-locking aiming controls make it easy to use even if you don’t use its rosary bead system of tiny combat bonuses, which I frequently forgot about. But I don’t engage in these kinds of activities in order to receive constant punishment. While some adversaries will hide behind walls and big objects, others will approach you stoically in hopes of being blown off their boots. The shootouts are passable even though the AI isn’t always accurate (and it’s undoubtedly a little janky to find oneself completely flanked but still having the time to get up and awkwardly blast a guy who had you dead to rights at point-blank range).

The Old Country’s cunning enhances the action overall, but it doesn’t change the rules either. Sometimes the design of the mission at hand necessitates stealth, while other times it is an option. Throughout the game, there are several encounters with locations designed to allow us to move stealthily and eliminate each enemy one at a time. If you make a mistake and are discovered, you may also easily switch to a full-on battle.

Coins and bottles can be thrown to divert attention, but regrettably, only certain bottles (i.e., those with arbitrary markings) can be used. When levels are embellished with erratic props, it always kind of breaks the immersion. I would so much rather be able to pick up any bottle. If not, simply remove the bottles that we are unable to pick up when on assignments. Importantly, bodies can be moved and picked up, and there are boxes to store them in. Although the stealth is fairly conventional, the use of body concealment and distractions makes it seem more like a legitimate stealth system than an afterthought.

Red Dead Redenzione

The Old Country is a linear adventure that, while it may not have the same breadth as Rockstar’s genre-defining Westerns, it is unquestionably similar in tone and ambiance. The Old County, like the Red Dead series, effectively conveys the unquestionable swagger that comes with riding into town on horseback (and on the wrong side of the law).

In addition to highlighting the early years of the Sicilian Mafia, the early 1900s setting offers a glimpse into the Edwardian age of automobiles, when cars started to challenge horses as the main mode of transportation. In this area, developer Hangar 13 has excelled, particularly with the audio.

The Old Country has flawlessly caught the harsh and bumpy burbles of these 120-year-old cars, complete with open cabins without sound deadening, screeching chain drives, and primitive engines. It is impossible to overstate the amount of richness this gives to exploring the map. And it’s not just engine noises. If someone brings a gramophone on a drunken road trip, pay attention to how it responds when you bounce about off-road. I appreciate that a lot of thought has gone into this.

Yes, there is a race task, but it hasn’t been tacked on to make fun of anyone who is still troubled by the notoriously difficult racing event in the first Mafia. It makes perfect sense in the context of the Targa Florio, one of the world’s oldest motor racing events, which was held in Sicily in 1906.

Although the Old Country’s version of this race is far too short—it ends in less than seven minutes—it is nonetheless one of the most exciting and unforgettable missions. I did wish Enzo could have severed his connection with the Cosa Nostra and pursued racing around Europe full-time. I’m not sure if trying to control an airplane engine with four tires and a steering wheel strapped to it is more perilous than breaking your oath to your family.

Verdict

The format of the original Mafia and Mafia II, which is linear and heavily story-driven, is successfully returned in Mafia: The Old Country. Although it doesn’t reinvent stealth and its standard third-person cover shoot isn’t particularly noteworthy, The Old Country is a powerful and engrossing time machine to a little-known period thanks to its superb writing, outstanding vocal performances, and amazing attention to detail.

I’ve never played anything with this much Italian fruit and food on display, so this might just be the Sicilian cuisine speaking, but I believe the Mafia games may have become the industry standard. They’re crusty on the outside but dense, delicious, and somewhat cheesy on the inside. If you keep serving them, I’ll keep returning to the buffet until the kitchen runs out of food.

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